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Source Says, Iran Expected to Respond to U.S. Proposal Today; Judge Releases Jeffrey Epstein's Purported Suicide Note; Hantavirus- Hit Cruise Ship Heading to Spain's Canary Islands. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired May 07, 2026 - 07:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[07:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: War status limbo. We're standing by for Iran's response to a new offer from the United States. This really could come at any moment.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And the race is on now to contain the deadly virus aboard a cruise ship in the Atlantic. The ship is on the move right now as authorities are now trying to contact guests for all of these growing suspected cases.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: A mysterious high-dollar heist, more than 60 baby cows worth over $100,000 stolen in the middle of the night. How did thieves snatch so many calves and sneak off without a trace?

I'm Sara Sidner with John Berman and Kate Bolduan. This is CNN News Central.

BERMAN: This morning it is Iran's move. So, there were pro-regime protests erupting in Tehran. You can see them right there, as a source tells CNN that Iran is expected to respond today to the latest U.S. proposal to end the war. We are told that a one-page memo is being floated that would formally declare the conflict over and then trigger a 30-day negotiating period to resolve the more serious sticking points, including the nuclear issues, unfreezing Iranian assets, and the future security in the Strait of Hormuz.

Now, President Trump has been sounding optimistic. He says Iran has already agreed to some of the sticking points, but the word from Iran certainly more defiant. The parliament speaker there, one of the top negotiators, mocked the president's short-lived operation to guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz. He wrote that, quote, Operation Trust Me Bro, failed.

Let's get to CNN's Alayna Treene at the White House this morning. And we're waiting for, you know, white smoke or black smoke to emerge from the White House. We're waiting to hear, frankly, I don't mean to joke about it, but right now it's just a waiting game to hear what Iran says, right?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: No, absolutely, and I did appreciate your pope joke, given that we know the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, is expected to meet with him today. But to go back to the topic at hand on Iran, look, we heard from the spokesperson for the foreign ministry in Tehran said that they had received the U.S. proposal, that they were studying it. And the expectation we have got gotten from our sources is that they are expected to deliver a response to that proposal today.

Now, of course, the Iranians, what we are hearing is that it is expected to be positive. I think a key question, of course, is what is positive for the Iranians is not necessarily positive for everyone else. And also, of course, the big question is whether or not what they send back will really line up and match with what, of course, the U.S. has been putting forward.

Now, I will say that one thing that we have heard from the president is he told this to CBS yesterday in an -- or, excuse me, to PBS yesterday in an interview, is this question of highly enriched uranium. He essentially said that we're going to go get it. That has been a huge sticking point throughout all of this, particularly for the Iranians.

So, there are, of course, still very controversial points to all of this that still need to be worked out.

[07:05:01]

But I will say, at least from the White House perspective, they are cautiously optimistic. They are hoping that the positive feedback they are receiving from the Pakistanis, that, with the Iranians are moving closer to a compromise, is going to prove to be true. They're also just encouraged by any forward movement in these talks right now.

So, we are standing by and waiting to see what exactly the Iranians put forth. John?

BERMAN: All right. At this point, it's just a matter of waiting. Keep us posted, Alayna Treen at the White House this morning. Maybe we'll hear back from you soon. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Also overnight, a purported suicide note written by Jeffrey Epstein just unsealed by a federal judge now nearly seven years after he died. The note is brief. It's also unsigned and undated. It reads in part, they investigated me for a month, found nothing, and also says, it is a treat to be able to choose one's time to say goodbye.

The note was said to be found after Epstein's first suicide attempt in 2019. His ex-cellmate, a former police officer convicted of quadruple murder, says that he found the note in a book after Epstein was found unresponsive.

The note remained sealed as part of the court docket, as part of another court case. He spoke more about it last year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICHOLAS TARTAGLIONE, JEFFREY EPSTEIN'S FORMER CELLMATE: It was in my book. Yes, when I got back into the cell I opened my book to read, and there it was. And he wrote it and stuck it in the book. And that was, I believe, the reason why he stopped saying, because he didn't want to go to suicide watch, because I think his first thing was, oh, yes, he tried to blame me for attacking him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Let's talk more about what this all means now.

CNN Legal Analyst Joey Jackson joining me now with more on this. So, Joey, as I mentioned, the note has not been verified. The judge seemed, though, to think that that issue of being kind of unverified is kind of irrelevant to the unsealing question. How significant is this legally now?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, Kate, so it is not relevant to that. I think people can formulate their own conclusions. There was some indication that Tartaglione's lawyers, now, Tartaglione, of course, the voice we heard, was an individual who was a defendant who has since been convicted a couple of years ago of a quadruple murder. That's right, there's four. And so there's some credibility issues attached to it. However, with regard to the note and its authenticity, that remains to be seen.

Tartaglione's lawyers indicated that they authenticated it. Why? Because they wanted to protect their client. They wanted it to be known that their client would not harm Jeffrey Epstein, and, in effect, needed to have that assurance. And then there was some concern as to whether if this note got public, it would bleed into Tartaglione's trial, and he himself would face an unfair trial because of media reports that, hey, he's a quadruple killer, but now he also tried to kill Epstein.

And so I think there needs to be authentication. The Department of Justice has not done so. And so we'll see what happens and really what the note means because of the fact that we're just not sure, just based on representations, Kate, of Tartaglione's attorneys, that the note is authentic, it's proper, and then there are all these other issues associated with chain of custody, meaning where was it kept, was it given to authorities promptly, were there -- you know, in effect, if it is the note and it is in his handwriting, Jeffrey Epstein, did his roommate force him to do it, a lot of questions surrounding the note right now.

BOLDUAN: Well, and something you were just hitting on, the fact that this former cellmate's attorney said back years ago that they had authenticated it, just that fact that there is -- the attorneys had said they had au- authenticated a document and that document is still absent in the legally mandated government release of related documents to Jeffrey Epstein. How is that possible?

JACKSON: So, the possibility stems from the fact that once the apparent note was authenticated and given to the authorities, in order to protect this separate defendant's rights, what they did, attorneys -- and, again, when we say authentication, Kate, this is not an exact science. What you do, where you have experts that evaluate your handwriting, you have experts that determine whether it could and should -- it could have come from him, that is Jeffrey Epstein. And as a result of that, these experts opine as to its authenticity. That does not make it so. Remember, there could be challenges with respect to that.

But in terms of the process, in order to protect this particular defendant, Tartaglione, convicted in 2024, what was found is the judge said, look, I'm going to seal it. It's attorney/client privilege. It's connected to his case. We're going to put it in a vault, and at such time that it becomes relevant, or at the appropriate time, we'll unseal it. The judge, of course, just yesterday saying that because of the Epstein Transparency Act, because of people's right to know, because of the fact that the defendant has been convicted already and there's no imperative to hold the note and to otherwise protect the defendant's rights, we're going to release it.

[07:10:03]

But I should say, Kate, what it means is an open question. I should say that what did Epstein say initially, right? He said, hey, Tartaglione, my roommate, cellmate for two weeks, he tried to kill me. And then Epstein changed his story and said no he didn't try to kill me. That's not what happened. Then he said, I don't really want to talk about it. And then he said, I just deny the fact that I, of course, tried to commit suicide. I'm vested in my case. I would never do it. It's against my religion. So, a lot of things surrounding it, and we can't necessarily say that it opines as to the state of mind of Jeffrey Epstein at this point, even though, on its face, it seems to suggest that he wanted to take his own life.

BOLDUAN: Yes, very interesting. But you do get some -- you did offer some very important information about the why now, why is it coming out now, why release now. It does have to do with this transparency act.

It's good to see you. Thanks so much, Joey. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Just ahead this morning, health officials racing to try and trace the spread of the deadly Hantavirus as another person is infected.

Plus, an accusation in the Nancy Guthrie mystery, FBI Director Kash Patel goes on a podcast and attacks local Arizona authorities for how they handled the investigation into her disappearance. How the authorities are responding this morning, and what it might mean for the case.

And you have to see this video, two alligators fighting, in guess where, with a baby that's sleeping just feet away from where all this happened. I know you can guess which state this happened in.

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[07:15:00]

SIDNER: This morning, health officials are rushing to trace who may have come into contact with a rare strain of a Hantavirus over an outbreak on board a cruise ship. That ship now headed for Spain's Canary Islands, this after three people were evacuated from that ship near Cape Verde. Two of them are now in Amsterdam, where they are being treated by specialist medical teams.

It's believed the virus has killed three people who were passengers aboard the ship, and sickened several others on that ship. Here in the United States, two people in Georgia and one person in Arizona are under close watch after they disembarked from that cruise ship earlier.

CNN's Melissa Bell is joining us now with more on this. What are you learning about all this? And, look, this has got people pretty freaked out.

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. I think this whole story, even beyond those actually stuck on this ship that's become a sort of cruise from hell, extremely worrying. This is a virus, unusually, the Andes strain of this particular Hantavirus that can be passed on from human-to-human. The incubation period is eight weeks.

There are all kinds of reasons to be worried, but the messaging coming from the World Health Organization, Sara, is that this is not the next COVID. It is actually fairly difficult to catch. It is not that contagious, they say, nothing like the flu or COVID.

Still, strenuous efforts underway to try and figure out who might have come into contact, specifically with those 44 people we now know disembarked from the ship along the way, including 40 that left it in St. Helena, that southern Atlantic island, in that group, Sara, were two people who then conf- were confirmed to have contracted this Andes strain of the Hantavirus.

One woman, who was the wife of the first man who died on the ship, this group of 40, by the way, choosing to disembark after that first passenger had contracted the virus and fallen and died.

His wife then travels to South Africa unbeknownst to the people on the airplane or the authorities when she arrived, actually had the virus and collapsed after landing and died in South Africa.

Another of those to disembark from St. Helena went on to Switzerland. He's the very latest case to have been confirmed positive for the Andes strain of the Hantavirus.

Then there are the three that you mentioned that disembarked from Cape Verde after Cape Verdean authorities refused permission to the ship to dock. Still, they managed to get three people out, two of them now back in Amsterdam. Another delayed on their journey because Moroccan authorities wouldn't allow the plane to refuel.

And I think that gives you an idea of the fear that this has instilled in so many people and the huge difficulty that authorities are going to have in disembarking the 147 people still on board this ship that's now expected to arrive in Tenerife over the weekend. Sara? SIDNER: Yes, certainly the vestiges of the coronavirus and the pandemic has a lot of countries and people worried about this. But as you said, so far authorities saying this is not that but it is dangerous.

Melissa Bell, thank you so much. I do appreciate your great reporting there from Paris for us. John?

BERMAN: All right. A guy famous for trying to be handsome now faces charges for shooting at an alligator. The latest news this morning from Florida.

Then there goes that dream, no Triple Crown. The Kentucky Derby winner will not run the Preakness.

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[07:20:00]

BOLDUAN: To the sports, friends. Madison Square Garden was rocking last night. The Knicks winning again and taking a two-game lead in the series.

CNN's Andy Scholes is here. Andy, tell me, what happened, and what happened while I was asleep?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Kate, you know, the Knicks are starting to feel a little like a team of destiny here. You know, they've now won five in a row as they try to get back to the finals for the first time since 1999. And celebrity row was just packed once again at MSG. Timothee Chalamet and Kylie Jenner there, Ben Stiller on hand, Jay-Z as well, got to watch a good one.

The game featured 25 lead changes, which is the most in a playoff game in 11 years, neither team led by more than seven points. And the Sixers, who were without Joel Embiid for this one, they took a three- point lead with under seven to go on that Kelly Oubre three there. But from there, Knicks close the game on a 12-3 run. Mr. Clutch, Jalen Brunson, leading the way for New York with 26 points. The Knicks would end up winning 108-102 to take a 2-0 lead in that series.

Now, in San Antonio meanwhile, we did not get as close as a game between Spurs and the T-Wolves. Very start of the game, look at Wemby flying through here for the put-back slam. He had 19 points, 15 rebounds in this one.

And the third quarter, everything was going right for the Spurs. Shot clock about to expire, Devin Vassell gets the pass. He had started shooting before he even got the ball. Look at this. It's pretty incredible. San Antonio was up by 47 at one point in this game. They went in a blowout, 133-95 to even that series.

All right, the Stanley Cup playoffs, Buffalo rocking last night for their first second-round playoff game in nearly 20 years. Early on, Zach Benson to Josh Doan there. That had the fans on their feet, fun night. Sabres, they would win 4-2 to take a 1-0 lead in that series. All right, and, finally, we will not have a run for the Triple Crown this year. Trainer Cherie DeVaux announcing that Golden Tempo will skip the Preakness next week in order to prepare for the Belmont in early June. Golden Tempo is the third Kentucky Derby winner in five years to choose not to run the Preakness, and the second in a row, Kate. So, we're not going to get that run for the Triple Crown this year, which is always sad. I always really enjoy seeing it if a horse can complete it. We haven't seen it done since Justify.

[07:25:00]

BOLDUAN: The only thing I'm disappointed -- I mean, I'm disappointed in so many things, but one being I don't get to see you at another horse race, because you are quite --

SCHOLES: I know --

BOLDUAN: -- delightful at a horse race.

SCHOLES: Yes. And I only usually make it to the Belmont. Triple Crown's on the line, so not looking good for me this year.

BOLDUAN: Oh. Oh, Andy. Sara, where are you?

SIDNER: I'm over here because this is what the boys want everyone to see in our office. They want everyone to see this. Get a look at that. Yes, they're ready.

BOLDUAN: Take a look at that.

SIDNER: They're ready.

BOLDUAN: Did you see that shot?

SIDNER: That was insane. But --

BOLDUAN: Just like you -- I want you to jump in the air, and then I'm going to pass this over to you, Sara.

SIDNER: It was insane, but what's more insane is maybe, maybe, they'll be in the championship, the Knicks, maybe. Since 1999, it's been a long time. These guys have been waiting for like their whole lives.

BOLDUAN: You guys have good lives. Stop complaining.

SIDNER: No complaining.

BOLDUAN: Lulu (ph) -- I mean, Lulu is the happiest man on the planet, so --

SIDNER: All right. Just ahead, mom-and-pop shops are fighting to stay open. A brand-new report shows just how hard a perfect economic storm is hitting small businesses.

And this morning, millions in the southeast under a tornado watch, where that storm system is headed today.

Those stories and much more ahead.

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